Fast fashion is a rapidly expanding business generated by mass merchants such as Fashion Nova, Shein, Victoria’s Secret, Zara, and many more. Current fashion trends and social media exposure fuel these businesses. These shops often target their demographic and customer behaviors by collaborating with social media influencers. These strategies have proven effective as more people invest in the fashion sector in order to stay up with current trends at affordable pricing. However, the need to keep up with current trends has a drawback.
These industries rely on cheap labor and resources to mass-produce low-quality apparel. As a result, fast fashion is responsible for exploiting its garnet workers by paying them low wages and having them work in dangerous environments for long periods. Additionally, fast fashion is a major contributor to pollution. This industry relies on cheap textiles like polyester which is derived from fossil fuels, further adding to the global warming crisis. Since fast fashion is driven by trends, these clothes are disposed of at fast rates which is creating waste. It is obvious that rapid fashion has human and environmental consequences, yet there are ways to combat this issue.
What to do Instead
For starters, buy less. Instead of buying ten pairs of jeans, minimize your spending by prioritizing your needs over wants. Next, purchase clothing from sustainable brands. Sustainable brands are more expensive but the quality and their work have an immense impact on the environment and people’s lives. If prices are an issue, there are multiple alternatives with affordable prices like swapping clothes or purchasing items from second-hand shops. Most of these clothing items found in second-hand shops, thrift stores, and yard sales are of good quality. You can also be part of this effort by selling or donating your clothes to these spaces instead of throwing them out.
In honor of National Thrift day, let’s change our fashion habits by shopping at local second-hand clothing businesses. Let’s embrace our own styles and creativity instead of funding big corporations that only care about profit.
